m/m

This was such a cute, sweet, fluffy read that I was tempted to give it 4 stars, even though it was very predictable how it would all end. I was even willing to overlook the typos that slipped through editing and the occasional grocer’s apostrophes (which really should have been spotted). In the end, though, the ending was what bumped it down to a three. The ending was rushed, very insta-love, not at all natural, and needlessly made lying a part of their relationship. This is definitely a book where the obvious (if somewhat saccarine) ending would have been the better one. It would have fit the book much better.

Overall I liked this one, but didn’t love it. It was a light read to cheer me up when I needed cheering, though, so I give it credit for that. I’d love to see a second edition of this with better editing and a revised ending.

My new release, interracial M/M fantasy romance Nami is now available to purchase on All Romance and Amazon! Step into a world of religion, war, and devotion as one man struggles to save the man he loves from the chains of a cruel fate.

The Empire is sweeping the land, taking cities and towns by force. Nami, a young priest dedicated to the Goddess Ceres, is ready to sacrifice himself as Numidia falls, but his slave, lover, and protector Avan saves Nami from the temple flames against his will.

Alive and outraged, Nami travels to the city of Gran Terra to consult the Great Temple, but Avan’s love is changing Nami’s worldview. When he sees the Great Temple has become a hive of greed and indulgence, he challenges the idea of dying for a deity. However, the High Priest has another idea, and Nami will have to find every ounce of strength inside himself if he’s to escape the Temple alive with Avan by his side.

Continuing my experiment with Kindle Unlimited, I’ve enrolled True Nature in KDP Select and it’s now available to borrow for free for Kindle Unlimited/Kindle Owners Lending Library users. This was a no-brainer, since iTunes wouldn’t list it for content and Scribd seemed unwilling to offer it in their subscription lending service.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Should I enroll more of my self-published titles in Kindle Unlimited? Does being able to borrow fiction (especially short fiction) make you more likely to read something you’d be reluctant to purchase? Should I enroll all my short fiction, perhaps even my novels, or is having a choice in which vendor you use more important to you? All comments are welcomed and appreciated.

I confess I was nervous to read this book. One main character has depression and anxiety while the other is autistic? It seems like a lot for any author to pull off realistically. I have experience with some of these issues and am not sure I could put it down on paper with authenticity. Apparently I needn’t have worried – Cullinan clearly not only did her homework, but actually got into the minds of and fully understands her main characters, leading to a story that’s so real it sometimes hurts – but only in a good way. For that’s the magic of Carry The Ocean – despite its serious and often heavy subject matter, it never fails to be uplifting, positive, and inspiring. Emmet and Jeremey shoot for happiness on their own terms – and they achieve it.

I once heard it said that the most loving words you can say to a person are “let me help”. Carry The Ocean is 268 pages of “let me help” and it’s absolutely breathtaking. I picked it up saying to myself that I would read a few pages and read the entire book in two intense sessions where I laughed, cried, and empathized with the main characters. There are pieces of me on every page, in Emmet and in Jeremey. I know how it is to feel a meltdown coming on when routine and order are disrupted. I know how it feels to be overwhelmed in stores, endure panic attacks, and to believe that objects actually have feelings. I know how it feels to think/obsess about suicide, just to “know where the door is”. I know how the mind plays tricks and tells me I’m worthless and everything is my fault. But I also know how it is to find someone who loves the things I find weird and unlovable about myself. I know how amazing it is to earn the respect of peers knowing how hard I had to climb to get where I am today. Knowing that I am quite possibly happier now than many people “on the mean” as Emmet puts it, despite my bad days.

Some of the passages in this book hit me as being so true it was like someone had put words to things I’d been feeling for years but have never been able to articulate properly. I broke down crying because for the first time in forever I felt like somebody else actually knew what it was like to be me. This book got me. I never expected to find that in an M/M romance novel, when the books I’ve read in this genre lately feel bland. I’d all but given up on contemporary romance, fearing all the best books had been written already or that contemporary romance just wasn’t for me. Apparently I was just waiting for this one to come along.

I think Carry The Ocean has earned a place not just on best books I’ve read this year, or best M/M romance books, but on my all-time favorite book list. I can think of only two other M/M books I’d put there off the top of my head – Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov and Changing Worlds by Cari Z. If there’s a sequel I want to be first in line. Do yourself a favor and read this – you won’t regret it.

Jayson Mallik is an outcast who shouldn’t even exist. Born to a human father and an Ersatz mother, the prominent genes of his artificially born mother curse him to second-class citizenship on distant Colony Five. Forced to turn tricks in order to survive, Jayson one day takes on a most unusual client… a man claiming to be war hero Todd Jenkins as well as half-Ersatz like Jayson, an impossible feat in the strictly segregated and controlled society they live in. Is Todd’s story proof that one man can beat the odds, or just an elaborate roleplay scenario designed to fulfill his own personal kinks?

The Bastard Prince is a good fantasy novella with a few flaws that detract from the overall enjoyment. Now, this is listed as a third book in a series, but I read it first to get a taste for the style since it’s stand-alone and much shorter than the novels. I like what I see here, with some reservations, and I’ll probably read the other books at some point.

I found the core romance very satisfying, with the initially reluctant Reyes coming around to Kinnaird’s affection. This part of the novella, where a budding relationship evolves into something deep and lasting, was the highlight for me. I liked Reyes a lot as a main character, he’s easy to appreciate as someone who wants to serve the King but has no ambitions at court. Kinnaird is also a loyal earl with a secret power he uses in service of the Kingdom. He’s interesting, complex, and a great love interest.

The plot itself initially starts out very strongly, with incidents occurring across the Kingdom that threaten the safety of its people. Finding the perpetrator turns out to be less than easy, and things are further complicated when a young man arrives at court claiming to be the king’s bastard son. The story does tie up nicely, if a little too neatly to be true. I think the ending could have used a little more time to pan out. One aspect of the ending really did seem unrealistic to me and really could have used some questioning from the other characters. The fact that it could be done at all kind of underlines how little we know about the antagonists.

The villains in this are in fact my biggest problem. They’re incredibly one-dimensional and their motivations are never explained. They’re working for an enemy kingdom… why? This was never expanded on to my satisfaction, and so they came across as simply horrible people. I want more explanation than that for my antagonists. I want to know what makes them tick, if there’s some slight or insult that makes them want vengeance, if they’re unhappy or proud of what they do. Instead they’re all conveniently cleaned up and everybody lives Happily Ever After… which is fine, but I felt like there needed to be more fallout and consequences than there were. The ending felt a little hollow after the air had been sucked out of the big reveal.

Other than that I did like this book, it was a good bedtime read. The world interested me enough to make me want to see more, but to earn 5 stars it would need to be revised with more emphasis on the characterization of the villains. I prefer romance novels with actual plot, but the story needs to be fully realized and not just a side dish.

-A really beautiful cover to make readers insta-buy before they read the excerpt.
-2lb of stale tropes, including my personal favorite, “It’s Not Rape If He Likes It”, which should be applied early on in the book to really hook your reader. Make sure to throw in the Tragic Backstory to make the reader feel bad about the MC being enslaved and raped, then dismiss it when the MC has rationalized the rape and enslavement.
-5 or 6 sex scenes, as samey as possible, in order to pad out the page count.
-A love interest that starts out as a Rapey Soul-Stealing Overlord but is humanized by the Tragic Backstory of the MC and changed into a caring, sensitive, formally misunderstood guy by The Power Of Love.
-A cliche self-sacrifice in which nothing is actually sacrificed and everybody goes home to live Happily Ever After.
-A few observations about how pretty and delicate the love interest appears to be, so clearly he must bottom during sex. Make sure to point out that he’s much more attractive to the MC when he appears more masculine.
-A villain with absolutely no personality other than being a Spurned Former Love Interest.
-Add a dash of Norse mythology references and generic fantasy races for color.

Mix all of these together with some competent language until you have a fine, flavorless dough, roll it out, and use your cookie-cutter to make some standard, uninspired shapes. Cook at 350 degrees for 2 hours, then sell to a publisher.

This was really close to being a 5-star read for most of the book. I loved the slow-burn, tender, intellectual romance, adored the ancient Chinese setting, and thought the trans* issues were handled with grace and subtlety. Sadly the story fell apart a little for me at the end. Maybe I just like my romances to end neatly with a little bow on top, but I was hoping that Wen Yu and Liu Yi would find a way to be married, or if that was socially impossible, at least have a comfortable life at the palace together. I also would have liked some resolution to the fairytale aspect of the story that was so nicely set up at the beginning.

Other than that, there were a few stray typos that slipped through editing, especially later in the book, which made me read a couple of sentences twice to discern their meaning. Regardless, this didn’t detract from a very enjoyable read which I recommend to everyone.

Peter thought that Oliver was gone forever, but fate offers him once last chance to reunite with the man he loved and lost…

Reunited is a short story, part of Totally Bound Publishing’s Lust Bites line. A sexy yet sweet story set in 1990s England and dealing with themes of love, loss, and H.I.V., it will tug on your heartstrings while leaving you with a contented, warm feeling. It will be available for early download on their website starting February 6th, and out for general release on March 6th.

Wings of Destruction is out now and you can buy it at all your favorite retailers! Please support it and my publisher, Less Than Three Press, for taking a chance on an asexual romance story.

Society has collapsed, driven to madness after a great economic crash. Gangs roam the streets, taking any man, woman or child without a Mate for their own.

Martin is on the brink of despair, an asexual man who cannot keep a Mate. Facing a life he cannot bear, he heads to Spire Rock to end it. But when he reaches it, he encounters Anael, an angel sent to assess the world for destruction—and the first to accept Martin exactly as he is.

Teaming up with former gang concubine Sarah, they journey to the Tower of Elysius to end the world. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and some angels have plans of their own…

Society has collapsed, driven to madness after a great economic crash. Gangs roam the streets, taking any man, woman or child without a Mate for their own.

Martin is on the brink of despair, an asexual man who cannot keep a Mate. Facing a life he cannot bear, he heads to Spire Rock to end it. But when he reaches it, he encounters Anael, an angel sent to assess the world for destruction—and the first to accept Martin exactly as he is.

Teaming up with former gang concubine Sarah, they journey to the Tower of Elysius to end the world. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and some angels have plans of their own…